ABSTRACT
Rational answers to moral dilemmas appear to be theory-dependent. They make sense only within a specific intellectual frame of reference, hence the way in which a moral problem is resolved will depend on the ethical theory which is explicitly or implicitly appealed to. Generally, in western cultures, we appeal to one of two main ethical traditions, the liberal utilitarian and the conservative Kantian traditions, to solve moral problems. The selection of these two traditions as central to modern moral discussion is not ad hoc, because they constantly appear in contemporary moral arguments and are frequently crucial to those disputes. They also play different roles in the dynamics of social change in our culture. Ordinarily most of us are strictly neither utilitarians or Kantians. Our moralities are a mix of utilitarian consequentialist and Kantian non-consequentialist principles. Even the most systematic of us tend to incorporate important elements of the opposing standpoint into our moral practice.
